About this Guide
1. Uploading a Track
If you are working on a single-track project, you will just need to create a Track Project. To do so, click on the "+" button near the top-left corner, then choose "Single Track Project". Enter the track title and continue. This title can be changed at any time.
Uploading the Track Audio
Once you are in the project, you would see a few components with the bottom half of the screen being the Audio Tracks pod. To upload an audio file, simply drag and drop the file into the Audio Tracks pod. Alternatively, you can click on the "Add Music" icon (shown in the screenshot below) to select and upload audio files.
Uploading Multiple Audio Files
You can upload more than one audio file. For example, you can import multiple versions of the same track for comparison purposes, or upload a reference track for inspirational purposes. In Opusonix, you can easily conduct A/B tests between audio files. Simply start the playback, then click on the desired audio track to activate them. The playback will seamlessly switch among your audio tracks.
Going Back to Opusonix Home
At any point, if you wish to return to your Opusonix Home page, click on the "Back Arrow" button near the top left corner.
2. Starting an Album Project
If you are working on an album, create an Album project. To do so, start from your Opusonix account home, click on the "+" button near the top left corner and choose the "Album" option. In the following dialog, you can set the Album title, and track titles. At least one track title is needed. But if you already know the titles of multiple tracks, you can set them all here in this dialog. Confirm the dialog to create the album and the individual tracks. Then, you will be taken to the first track project. The operations here is the same as any individual track projects. For details on this, please refer to Part 1 (above) of this article.
Managing Tracks in an Album
To manage tracks in the current album, click on the Album Info icon near the top of your screen to bring in the Album Info side panel.
The Album Info side panel allows you to configure the basic info about the album, such as the album title, album state, and the album artwork. The bottom half of the album info panel contains the list of tracks in the album, as well as an album-wide note pad.
Special Note: The Album Info side panel is not available if you are working in a single-track project.
Reordering Tracks
In the bottom half of the Album Info side panel, you can see a list of tracks in the current album. To re-arrange the tracks list, hover your cursor over the track number, and drag the handle to move it up or down the list. You can preview the track's primary audio file by clicking on the "Preview" button (this button only shows up if there is at least one audio file in the track project). To go to a particular track, click on the "Edit" button.
3. Working with Audio Files
Opusonix offers several tools and view modes for your audio files, allowing you to efficiently work with your track files.
View Modes
Stacked View (Default)
In this view mode, you will be able to see all your audio tracks as well as their individual controls. Each track is presented with a nice looking wave form allowing you to view the audio data, move the playhead and make selections with ease. This view works the best when you have a limited number of audio tracks, and that you need to do A/B tests among multiple files. To conduct A/B test among multiple files, first start the playback on one track, then click on another track to activate it. The playback will switch over without stopping. The keyboard shortcut to switch the active track is CMD+Up / Down (or Ctrl+Up / Down if you're on Windows or Linux).
Tabbed View
In this view mode, only one audio file is visible. This mode works the best when you have limited screen space and too many tracks to see in the default Stacked View mode, or when you have already decided on a primary audio file for the current project. You can still conduct A/B test in this mode - just switch tabs as you play through the audio files. The keyboard shortcut to switch the active track is CMD+Right / Left (or Ctrl + Left / Right on Windows or Linux).
High-Density View
Do you have lots of tracks that you wish to see all at once? Switch to the High-Density view mode. In this mode, tracks take less vertical space so that you can see more at once. However, most of the track actions, such as Download, Color Palette, and Comments On/Off are hidden. The tracks are still fully functional - you can conduct A/B tests across files, and you can still add timestamped comments anywhere you like.
Waveform Tools
The Point Tool
Use the Point Tool to place the playhead anywhere on an audio track. You can click and drag to precisely position your playhead. Hit the SPACE BAR key to start or pause the audio playback from that particular point.
The Selection Tool
To make selections, activate the Selection Tool, then click and drag on the wave form. Once a selection is made, you can edit the label by clicking on it. Selections can be moved around by clicking and dragging, or resized by dragging the boundaries. Each selection will come with its own comment, so that it can be reacted to, and replied to. To delete a selection, first click to highlight an existing selection, then hit the DELETE key on your keyboard.
Track Actions
Setting Track as Primary
It's common to have multiple audio tracks uploaded in a track project. By setting a particular track as the primary track, this track would be the default track for previewing, playlist and exporting purposes. For example, if you try to preview a track from your Opusonix home portal, create a playlist involving some track projects, or if you choose to export an album or a track project, the primary track audio file will be used. Each track project can only have one primary track.
Writing Timestamped Comments
To write comments at a particular place of an audio track, first move the playhead to the desired spot, then click on the "Add Comment" button right under the playhead. You can write text based comments or record voice-based comments.
Notes about Voice-Based Comments
Due to browser's security restrictions, you may be prompted to grant Opusonix permission to access your mic each time you try to record a voice message. You can skip this extra verification step by choosing "Always Allow" when prompted.
4. Inviting Collaborators
The primary design goal of Opusonix is to improve the communication efficiency, and it is very easy to bring in your colleagues or clients to your track projects for a collaborative review experience.
Sending Invites
To bring people into a project, you need to open up a project first. Once you're in the project, click on the Share button near the top right corner to bring up the Share sidebar.
In the Share sidebar panel, click on the "Invite" button in the Editors group. You can invite editors by entering their email addresses, and attach an optional personal message if needed. When inviting, you can choose to invite users to work on the current track project only, or the entire album (if the current project is part of an album). This collaborative permission can be revoked at any time.
The Collaborator Experience
The recipients will get an invitation email that contains the title of the project, your name, and your personal message (if provided). When they click to accept the invitation, they will be prompted to enter their name and their desired password to join you on the project. This process is very quick and easy, and your client will be in your project within a minute.
When your client wishes to return to your project, they can log on to Opusonix directly to access all the projects they have access to, or they can click on the invitation email to return to the project immediately.
5. Real-Time and Asynchronous Collaboration
Opusonix allows you and your team to work both in realtime and asynchronous modes.
Realtime Note Pod & Cursors
If other editors are also online, all the changes you make are immediately reflected on their ends (and vice versa). The notes editor also allows you to see the cursor positions of other editors, allowing you to edit the review notes in realtime. Your name, your avatar and cursor label color can all be adjusted in the Share sidebar.
Project Chat
Like many collaborative platforms, Opusonix also has a built-in chat feature, which allows you to send both text-based and voice-based messages. The chat feature can be invoked by clicking on the Chat icon near the top right of the corner.
The chat history is preserved indefinitely, so you can use this feature as a venue for both realtime and asynchronous conversations.
Notifying Collaborators
It is important to notify your collaborators when important changes are made, especially when you and your team are working asynchronously. Instead of drafting an email or sending a text, you can notify your collaborators right from within Opusonix.
Simply click on the "Notify Editors" button near the top right corner, or in the Share sidebar, and you'll be able to select some (or all) of the editors and push a custom message to them. Everyone will get an email containing the project title, name of the person pushing the update, and the personal message. They will also be able to return to the project with a single click.
🚀 You're Ready
This guide covers the essentials. You can explore more at your own pace — and as always, we're here if you need help.
📬 Questions?
Reach out anytime at info@opusonix.com